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Pretty basic question. I have around 160 points to play around with. I was going to run a blob but I don't have enough points for all of the Power Weapons, and you're stuck taking 2 full squads AND a PCS. Conversely, Penal Legion seems to actually come in a fair bit *cheaper* and makes fluff sense: they're throwaway jerks that die for the good of my Mech Vets.

Anybody use Penal Legion? As Bubblewrap?

That's one chimera, 3 meltas, and the vets to carry them.

Just sayin'.

Their main use is to outflank and potentially operate unsupported by other units, and are not the best bubble wrap.

Quad flamer pcs in a chimera are a great unit. If you want to experiment with a platoon try a quad flamer pcs and 2 squads with an ac and gl.

I suppose it would be sensible to ask what else is in the list.

What are you bubble wrapping? Not the vet chimeras i hope? Without seeing the list its hard to really give you much advice, other than saying that penal legion are usually not the best bubble wrap.

If you run Mech Vets and you want bubble wrap, swap put one of the Vet Squads for a PCS with he same type of gun.

I'd net you 30pts for a Switch fro Melta Vets to Melta PCS or 25pts for Plasma Vets to Melta Vets. PCS with special weapons average the same number of hits, but at a lower cost.

With the 160 you already have open, you could run a small blob with the 185-190pts left. Which would definitely cover bubble wrapping, and Possibly objective squatting if that what you want to do.

You could also stay mech and grab 4 Sentinels with autocannons for the same price as 2 Penal Legion Squads. They could screen for tanks and still outflank like PLS.


I usually avoid taking Penal Legion unless I'm doing a foot slogging list, and then I try and take them in enough numbers that I've got a fair chance of getting the a useful Desperado roll.

I have run them, but they are disappointing. Without special weapons and at such small size, it is difficult to use them for anything but skulking about someplace trying to grab an objective when nobody is watching.

They are not useful for bubblewrap, because their size is too small and their survivability is too low. If you want bubblewrap at 160, take two troop squads, combine them into a combined squad and give them a commissar. Now you have 21 models that are stubborn, Ld9, and reroll Ld through summary execution. This unit will still cost you 135 pts only, and is more difficult to wipe out drive back than 2 separate squads of desperados.

One idea is to use them as fillers of troop choices for a tech-guard list, but vets are 10 pts cheaper per squad and have access to more toys.

Overall, I think the fluff and reality are very far apart in the case of the penal legion. They should be a large, badly equipped, dirt-cheap throwaway unit, e.g. 30 hard cases whose usefulness is to catch a bullet or a claw instead of vets. They should still have a random ability, but the pricing and unit size make no sense whatsoever. Conscripts seem a better choice here.

I am not convinced a guard list needs a throwaway unit, because the average quality of IG troopers is already low. In a way, they are all throwaway units, so they should get a couple useful toys within reason and then just spam, spam, spam, counting on numbers and relatively low unit costs to carry the day. Ergo, the chimera spam and the powerweapon blob spam builds.